Tension
by Ottsel Cath
Summary: Ever since the McDonalds moved in, Casey and Derek could not get along, at all. Casey wanted to be respected, and Derek also wanted to be respected. Maybe locking them in the basement hoping they would agree on who got the basement bedroom was not such a great idea with all that tension. One-shot. Set during the first episode of the series.


**Tension**

* * *

If you asked Derek, it was all Casey's fault.

If you ask Casey, it was all Derek's fault.

Deep down, they knew it was both their fault, because, honestly, who could have predicted this would have happened?

They needed to compromise on the space in the new house, which was only logical. What was illogical was that Casey wanted Derek's room, and what was logical was that he did not want to give it to her. It had always been his after all.

What was illogical was that Casey tricked Derek into wanting the room Nora designed for Casey in the basement to get his room in return. What was logical was that their parents had had enough of their childish behaviour.

What was illogical was for their parents to lock them in the basement until they made a consensus. They needed to choose the poor person who would have to sleep in the beautiful bedroom originally created for Casey.

As soon as everyone left the room, Casey and Derek walked towards each other in a daring kind of way, as if they were ready to fight. If looks could kill, they would both have been in their grave at that moment.

"I'm not changing my mind!" Derek shouted, loud enough for their parents to hear them from the kitchen.

"You don't have a mind to change," Casey retorted, irritated by Derek's immaturity.

"This is ridiculous," Derek said, exasperated. "We're never gonna settle this, and I'm starving!"

Derek walked towards the door and opened it. "I'm hungry!"

"Too bad!" George answered, and Derek slammed the door.

"Can you just take the basement so I can eat?" Derek asked, incredibly annoyed. He did not need a scheming princess to come in and mess with his peaceful life.

"You are one of the most annoying people I've ever met!" Casey said.

"I may be annoying, but at least I didn't try to trick you into changing your mind!" Derek told Casey. "Since when did the keener become the schemer?"

"Since I was forced to move in here and fight for what I deserve!" Casey said.

"What you deserve?" Derek asked. "So, you deserve to mess with my family? You deserve to have everything you want, and not me?"

"Don't act like you don't always have what you want," Casey spat. "You're practically the king of this place."

"Well, then, you should obey my every command, shouldn't you?" Derek snarked.

"De-rek !" Casey shouted.

"Command number one, take the basement," Derek said.

"No," Casey said sternly. "Isn't there anything you want beside your room that I could give you?"

"Do you really want to go there, princess?" Derek asked, with a glint of something unrecognizable in his eyes. What would be his answer actually scared Casey, a lot.

"Positive," Casey said boldly. She would never, ever, let Derek be right, and she would certainly never let him win one of their fights because she chickened out.

Derek slowly walked over to Casey, who was near the window of the room, so he could be only a foot apart from her. He wanted to make her nervous, to make her chicken out so he could once again get what he wanted.

Casey eyed him all along, wondering how long he would actually be able to control himself. She was not sure what he was planning to do, or ask, but she had a pretty good idea of what he was referring to.

"You know exactly what I want," he whispered slowly, looking deeply into her eyes, waiting for her to back up, or even protest. He was expecting to lose that fight, but, by the look in her eyes, he knew they were both going to lose it, or win it, depending on how one saw the fight.

"Well, then," Casey answered confidently, "take it." Her eyes widened as soon as she realized what she had just told her step-brother. She also realized how wrong and naughty that made her sound. Derek, on the other hand, loved it. He loved her confidence, but, mostly, her stubbornness. Something about it was extremely attractive to him. Maybe it was because she was a challenge.

Derek, hearing her authorization, suppressed the space between their bodies in one swift movement, and connected their lips hungrily. Casey, anticipating his actions, snaked her arms around his neck and played with the hair on its crook while she kissed him back without hesitation. She knew this was where their argument was going, and, even though she knew how wrong it was, she couldn't bring herself to push Derek away.

Ever since he had first seen Casey, he felt attracted to her, more than he was ever attracted to another girl before. It wasn't just about her looks though. She was feisty and opinionated and he loved to argue with her. She was not all over him like other girls and she stood up to him, which made him want her even more.

When she first saw Derek, she actually thought he was Ralph, and, as much as the jerk he was, she saw "Ralph" as a challenge. She thought she could get closer to him once she transferred schools. Of course, she changed her mind when she learned he was Derek, and not Ralph. She blocked herself from feeling any attraction towards him considering how wrong it would be, to date your step-brother, but the feelings of attraction were still there. She knew it was wrong, more like taboo, to feel like she did, but she could not help herself.

Derek let his hand slide dangerously low on Casey's back, expecting her to protest, but she did not react at all. He decided not to go too far though. That was why he was just enjoying the feeling of Casey's lips gently moving on his own. He gently detached their lips and he started to kiss down her neck, careful not to mark her though, he would not want to raise his parents' suspicions. He knew it would end badly if George and Nora learned their children were making out in the basement instead of solving their issues.

Meanwhile, Nora and George were still sitting at the kitchen's table, trying to hear Casey and Derek's conversation. Their voices were getting lower and lower, and the parents hoped it was because they were finally solving the issue with maturity. When they realized they could not hear any arguing anymore, they concluded that something was wrong. They could not even hear indistinct chatter anymore, it was way too quiet for their liking. The parents could only wonder if they had gotten into a physical fight, but they could not hear any grunts or screams, so something was very wrong.

The adults got up and hurried down the stairs to take in the damage. Nora opened the door to the basement in a violent way, and she gasped as she noticed what was happening.

Casey and Derek both turned around to look at Nora, and separated as soon as they noticed her, and then, George.

"Casey!" Nora shouted angrily.

"Derek!" George said simultaneously.

"We can explain!" Casey said quickly, with a deer-caught-in-headlights look.

Nora's jaw dropped and George was at a loss from words; they had never expected that to happen. They thought their children despised each other too much to do that.

"Both of you, kitchen, now," George ordered as soon as he gained his senses again.

The teenagers looked down and obliged without protesting. They were in enormous trouble and they knew it. They walked upstairs without a sound and sat down at the table, feeling like they were waiting for their judgment in court. Nora and George followed them as they climbed the stairs as if they were guiding prisoners.

Derek, however, could not ignore how rosy Casey's cheeks were, and how giddy she looked. Even though they knew it was wrong, it definitely left them wanting more.

"What were you thinking?" George asked as he joined them at the table.

Casey, fidgeting and looking at her hands, refused to say anything.

"It was the heat of the moment," Derek said without looking at Casey and looking George in the eyes. "I lost control."

Casey gasped at Derek's answer, and let her hands fall at her sides; she could not understand why he was putting all the fault on himself. He was usually the first person to accuse anyone else to get out of trouble. Derek, taking advantage of the fact that Casey's hands were now under the table, slipped his hand into hers, keeping a poker face. She twitched as she felt his hand in hers, but she was able to contain her surprise. She could not understand why he was showing affection towards her, but she suspected that he was just trying to mess with her, so, she entwined their fingers. Derek was the one surprised by the other's actions now, but he played it cool. Their fight was never going to end, and they both knew it.

"Has that ever happened before?" Nora asked curiously.

"No, I promise this was the first time," Casey answered her mother.

"Don't you know how wrong and immoral this is?" George asked. "You guys are siblings!"

"Step-siblings," Derek corrected automatically. Casey was never going to be his sister, to him at least.

"We're not blood-related," Casey added. "So, is it really immoral?"

"Yes, yes it is!" George said loudly. "People see you as siblings, not lovers!"

"Whatever," Derek said as he rolled his eyes.

"As long as you both live under this roof, we condemn this behaviour," George told the teenagers. "We do not want to see you doing whatever you were doing ever again!"

"Casey, you will keep the bedroom in the basement, and Derek will keep his room," Nora said calmly. "We don't want you on the same floor at night."

"But Mom!" Casey whined.

"Think about it, Casey," Nora said. "You will be the only one in the basement. You can listen to music as loud as you want and no one will hear it, and you won't hear anyone."

After her statement, Nora looked at both Casey and Derek and winked without her husband noticing.

"And that is final," George said sternly.

Casey and Derek looked at each other confused. Nora seemed to mean something else by what she said, but they were not sure if they could trust their judgment, because it seemed like Nora was on their side.

The adults dismissed Derek and Casey, and went to the living room to discuss things further, without the teenagers.

"Is it me, or was Nora hinting something?" Derek asked, shocked, as he realized Casey was not letting go of his hand, and, if he was being honest with himself, he liked it.

"I think she was," Casey whispered so only Derek could hear.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go move my furniture in the basement," Casey said as she let go of Derek's hand. She left the room and headed upstairs to move all her belongings.

"You'll definitely need a man's help," Derek told Casey playfully, but his idea was cut short when George yelled to not even think about it. Casey's eyes widened; he really was against them. Until that moment though, she did not realize she wanted to feel Derek's touch again.

With her mother and his father in the living room, and with Derek and Casey still in the kitchen, Derek took the opportunity to fervently kiss Casey for a couple of seconds before leaving for his bedroom. He left her speechless and confused, but he got what he wanted. He winked right before turning away, and only caught a glimpsed of her blushing visage.

Casey unfroze after a couple of seconds and proceeded to move most of her belongings alone, but George and Nora did help her at some point. None of them really said anything while they worked unless they had to instruct something. Derek watched for afar, feeling conflicted; he wanted to talk to Casey about what had happened, but he knew she would not respond well because of what George told them. Besides, they were now not allowed to be in the same room with a closed door.

At around 10 o'clock at night, George, Nora and the kids were all in their rooms, asleep, or trying to fall asleep. Casey, on the other hand, was pacing in her room, trying to make sense of what had happened between her and Derek. Part of her knew how wrong it was for her and Derek to see each other, but another part wanted to feel his touch again.

It took her at least a good half-hour to decide to go and talk to Derek about what happened. She climbed the stairs leading upstairs slowly and carefully to not make any noise and disturb someone, but she noisily gasped as she opened the door and bumped into a person that was about to open it.

He put his hand on her mouth before she could make any more noise and lead her down the stairs. He only let go of her when her bedroom door was closed.

"What are you doing here?" Casey asked, whispering.

"Sneaking around," he said playfully, and she smirked. "There is something incredibly fun about it."

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" Casey asked flirtatiously.

"After this afternoon, no, I can't," Derek answered. He quietly pulled her towards her bed so they could sit down and be more comfortable. He leaned down to capture her lips with his own, but she pushed him away, much to his chagrin. He raised an eyebrow questionably. "What, are you gonna give me that speech about how this is supposedly immoral?"

"No, I just like to annoy you," she said, smirking. "Besides, I'm not giving you what you want tonight."

"Whoa, I don't want to sleep with you," Derek said. "At least, not for now."

"I know," Casey said. "But I am not kissing you tonight."

"Why not?" Derek pouted, pulling her into him.

"Because you freaking got to keep your room, and you got me today," Casey answered. "So, you got what you wanted, and I didn't."

"Come on, you got me," Derek said, trying to change her mind.

"If I remember correctly, we were fighting for your room, and you won, so you're not getting me tonight," Casey said and Derek pouted once more.

After hearing how much of a sore loser she was, he pulled her in for a kiss, without giving her a choice, and kissed her for a couple of seconds.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, then, sore loser," Derek said as he opened the door and left Casey's new room.

"And you're an obnoxious winner!" Casey whispered-shouted back, blushing like crazy.

* * *

 **Hey ya'll! This is my second story in only a matter of days! I'm pretty proud of that! I want to thank you all so much for reading and your amazing feedback on my other LWD one-shots! You guys are the best! Peace out :)**


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